The Brave New World: The lessons of 9/11

There are dates and times that are burned in the minds of Americans. December 7th, 1941 was a day that would live in infamy. September 11, 2001 was this generation December 7th and on this day, our worldview was shattered. We are now a nation still seeking to find new strategy to face this brave new world. Until September 11th, 2001, the American populace treated American preeminence with indifference and in some case fear. During the previous three presidential elections, domestic concerns dominated and serious foreign policy issues never made the front burners in the electorate mind. Suddenly, America found itself in a war of terror after over 3,000 Americans were killed in suicide attacks and foreign policy took center stage in American policy.

There are three thoughts on the war of terror. The first is that America need to disengage from world and the terror will eventually wilt away. Pat Buchanan on the right allied with various libertarian thinkers fear an America being corrupted by the world and involvement in world affairs will only grow government at home. The political left simply believes that it is America that is evil and corrupting the rest of the world. At the present, most of those who belong to this school are dominated by the left but regardless, the end goal is to retreat from the world.

The second thought is that our strategy should be centered on dealing with the terrorist network and that dealing with Iraq is merely diverting us from the real task at hand. This thought has considerable support but has been overshadowed by those who follow the first theorem of American disengagement.

The third thought and this is the present policy, America will strike at both the terrorists and the states that sponsor them. The sponsors of this thought are correct in their diagnosis that the terrorists do not exist in a vacuum and that the war must include in dealing with those nations who are allied with the terrorist forces. Nor are the terrorist’s groups involved merely composed of Al Qaeda, for there is a network that extends beyond Al Qaeda. Those who follow this theory believe that once we begin the process of integrating the Middle East into the mainstream of the world polity, we will see a major reduction of terrorist activities worldwide. Without active support of sponsor states, Terrorists can‘t survive long. No bases to strike at the West.

Article Author: Tom Donelson

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